OL Andrus Peat Visit Reaction

Arizona offensive lineman Andrus Peat (6'7", 305 lbs) is one of the top prospects in the nation, a five star to most sites. Peat decided to take a trip up to Ann Arbor this weekend and I caught up with him to see how the visit went. Here's a look at his film and what he had to say.

TOM: What was the reason that you decided to visit Michigan?

ANDRUS: Right now I'm just trying to get out to all the schools that I'm seriously interested in. I've been to Florida State, USC, and Stanford. I just wanted to get out to Michigan because they have a great tradition for winning and getting linemen to the NFL. I'm also going to Notre Dame tomorrow and then going back home.

TOM: Once these visits are done are you going to try to narrow things down based off of what you saw?

ANDRUS: Yeah, I'm going to cut my list to probably around 5 to 8 after I get out to these schools. By the end of the summer I'll make that cut.

TOM: To get to this visit to Ann Arbor specifically, what did you do once you first got there?

ANDRUS: When I got there I got to meet with the coaches, we toured the campus, and then saw the facilities. It was good to see everything, I was really impressed by the campus and the college atmosphere. It was a lot better than I expected.

TOM: I'm assuming you got to meet with Coach Funk, what did you talk about with him?

ANDRUS: He was saying that there's a great opportunity for linemen because they only have like 8 on scholarship, I think. It's a great opportunity to play early and they said they really like me. I definitely want to give them a good look.

TOM: Do you think this visit helped you get more comfortable with the coaches? Since you live in Arizona did this help make a better connection with the coaches?

ANDRUS: I think it helped me a lot to get to know the coaches better. Coach Funk was at my school a couple times so I'm familiar with him. It was good for me to get on campus though and see everything.

TOM: You said you have been out to places like Florida State and USC, how did this visit compare to those?

ANDRUS: It's definitely way up there. It was the biggest stadium I've ever seen, and I had a really good feeling about it. The whole atmosphere, the college town which I like, and the area was good. Talking to all the coaches and seeing the opportunity to play there, it was really good.

TOM: I know Michigan fans are curious, now that Nebraska is in the Big Ten, your brother Todd signed with the Cornhusker in last year's class. Is that going affect on you at all?

ANDRUS: I'm going to give them a look, but just because he's there doesn't mean that's where I'll go. I want to find the right opportunity for me and take a look at all these schools.

TOM: Do you think this visit helped Michigan at all, and when do you plan on making your final decision?

ANDRUS: For sure, I was really impressed with everything. I could definitely see myself playing there. I don't know when I'll make my decision, just whenever I feel right. I will probably take official visits and then decide after my senior season.

You also had the people who were all "OMG he's better than our DTs" "Fuck this kid" "I hope Hoke knows what he's doing" "They're getting our leftovers." I just meant that we can focus back on the positives of our recruiting this year.

Despite the great success that we have had on the recruiting trail, there seems to be a lot of hysteria and bad vibes on that page. I'd rather focus on what we are getting done than to go negative based on a single recruit going to another program.

We were fortunate enough to have a stretch where it seemed every recruit we went after ended up at Michigan. Now there are going to be some prospects that end up else where, even at our rivals. However, we're still doing a lot of things right, so there isn't much reason for concern.

Why does it seem like all these recruits keep saying Michigan was much better than I expected? What information source is telling all these kids that Ann Arbor or the Big House is anything besides amazing?

Peat gave mostly cookie cutter answers but it will be interesting to see if our current lack of OL depth helps recruit him. Glad he liked the visit. Thanks for the update.

it seems a lot of kids expect Ann Arbor to be Detroit. I know when I first started meeting people outside of Michigan and said where I was from, they'd make a confirmatory gesture and shout "Dee-Troit!" Uh, no.

One reason it's good we get them to A2 so they can see for themselves.

It might not be reasonable to lump Phoenix in with the west coast, but I'm going to do it anyway.

I've met plenty of coastal types (mostly east) that view the lower 48 as the big cities in the east, LA, SF, maybe Seattle, Florida, and a couple of ski hills in Colorado. They generally have no more than a vague idea of where Chicago is. I'm not kidding. Ask them if they know where Michigan is and you'll get a glassy-eyed stare. They may not know where Detroit is geographically, but it's all they know of Michigan.

To be fair, some Midwesterners probably assume that all Californians can surf to school. Ignorance on geography isn't confined to the coasts.

The middle of Michigan is not the most intriguing place. The state itself is in bad economic shape, recently lost population, etc. When your options are to go to sunny places (California, Florida, Arizona, etc.), I'm sure more than a few of his friends, coaches, and family members would say, "Why would you want to go all the way up to Michigan? There's nothing there."

Furthermore, there's been nothing but bad press for the past few years, save Denard's short-lived Heisman race in 2010. ESPN and the mainstream media haven't exactly made it seem like the Wolverines are a superpower.

I live in Tallahassee, FL the home of one of his choices... Not sure when his visit was here, but I can tell you I'd much rather be in Michigan right now. Summer temps during the day range from a low of 75 up to 105 with high humidity. The first month or 2 of the season is tough as well down here, with game time temps usually in the 90's (and FSU can't sell out games). He may be used to the heat, but hopefully the refreshing temps of the Michigan air will sell him on Ann Arbor.

I don't really see how this is rated as trolling. The guy is actually being positive. He's saying Hoke has raised his expectations and he expects everyone even 5 star guys to commit immediately, nothing bad about this.

but Hoke has raised my expectations as well. He's put us in the conversation for many of the top prospects, and it seems like there isn't a recruit he doesn't feel confident persuing. Even at SDSU and Ball State he was aiming high. Lots of fans would say we have a snowballs chance in hell of landing blue chips like Peat for one reason or another, but I think Michigan and Hoke could land anybody. Heck, Florida State gets a top class every year regardless of wins or academics, why not us?

I got a more positive feedback on Michigan's chances with Peat then I did with Stanford. In the end I think Michigan will have to do a lot to get Peat, but I get the feeling he has more of a interest then Stanford and Washington do now.

If being in a college town is important to him, like he says, that's gonna rule out a number of the schools on his list, like FSU and USC. ND, Neb., and, to a lesser extent, Stanford are still in the running, though.

Is when recruits preceed or follow a visit here with a visit to ND. They have a nice enough (small) campus but you can't begin to compare South Bend with Ann Arbor. Same thing with USC (located in south central LA) but they do have great weather and it's easy to head to Santa Monica, Manhattan Beach, etc. ... oh yeah, nice tan co-eds...

People say "it's such a beautiful campus." And it is a beautiful campus. But drive more than three blocks away from campus, and there's nothing. ND is a freeking bubble (they kept it that way for a long time to keep "the wrong element" from getting on campus).

Sounds like the visit went pretty well. If anything, I did not think our shot for him was even this good. Granted, it is still a heck of a long shot, but it is nice that we are getting further consideration. I had always figured Nebraska for a lock . . .

I wonder if Michigan will even have any spots open at that point...Anyway, I'm glad it went well. Recruits talk, so it's always nice for guys to come away with a good experience even if they don't commit to Michigan.

with the early kick ass recruiting commitments, and now hoping there are enough scholarships available for the good number of blue chippers left in this class. Sounds entitled and greedy, but I want more, and more, and more. APeat would look beautiful in Maize and Blue.

I'm a paying member to Rivals, and I just read Notre Dame's article on Peat's visit. Really there's nothing in there that leads me to believe that Peat is leaning to one school in particular. ND interviewed his father who played for the Raiders. Here's an excerpt:

When Notre Dame gets Peat on campus the goal will shift from showing the tackle how much he's wanted to proving the Irish program is where he can best reach his elite potential. The message received from the Notre Dame coaches will be key to getting Peat back for an official visit.

"That means a lot to us, just being able to call (Warinner), get him on the phone, plan a trip and feel out how they feel about Andrus," Peat Sr. said. "I tell my boys, you want to go somewhere where they believe in you. I said this to Todd (Jr.), that if coach (Bo) Pelini believes you can be the best defensive tackle in the country, that's all that should matter to you if you believe it. If he believes it, you believe it and you work hard, it can happen.

"You want to go somewhere where coaches identify talent and recognize that you can make a difference in their program, moving it in the right direction."

In short, Peat is not tipping his hat to any school he particulary likes.